World Science Day for Peace and Development will be observed today (Wednesday) in our country along with the rest of the world emphasizing the significance of science in society and the need to involve the people of the society on emerging scientific issues.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of World Science Day for Peace and Development. The day will be observed this year under the theme “Building Climate-Ready Communities” with the aim of bringing science closer to the society and highlighting the scientific solution of the major global challenges.
“Bangladesh has achieved significant success in the field of science in the recent years. The government has increased incentives in the field of science to encourage research work and launched new scholarship programmes. We are moving forward keeping pace with the developed countries,” said Professor Dr Mohammad Asaduzzaman Chowdhury, Professor of Dhaka University of Engineering & Technology (DUET).
However, referring to the research approach he told the Bangladesh Post, “The young generation of our country should be motivated towards research more. The various initiatives taken by the government should be implemented to ensure their participation.”
Recently 54 researchers from different faculties of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) were ranked among the world’s best researchers in the Alper-Doger (AD) Scientific Index.
Talking to the Bangladesh Post, Dr Md Salim Khan, Principal Scientific Officer (PSO) of Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR) said that there are many scopes of research in our country due to the ultramodern research facilities provided by the government.
“During the coronavirus crisis we were able to play a vital role in the efforts to tackle the pandemic through genome sequencing. Although the young generation is contributing a lot to the field of science, they should be engaged in science-related projects in early childhood,” he added.
In November 2001, the 31st Session of the UNESCO General Conference officially proclaimed to observe the day every year and following this the first World Science Day for Peace and Development was celebrated worldwide on November 10, 2002.
Various programmes and discussion meetings have been organized by different institutions of our country to celebrate this very day.